Governments provide $90 million for Canadian Natural clean tech projects

Ottawa and Alberta are pledging almost $90 million to fund clean technology developments at Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., Canada's largest producer of heavy oil. Murray Edwards, left, Executive Chairman, and Steve Laut, centre, President of Canadian Natural Resources, prepare to address the company's annual meeting in Calgary, Thursday, May 4, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

CALGARY — The federal and Alberta governments are pledging almost $90 million to fund clean technology developments at major oilsands producer Canadian Natural Resources Ltd.

The commitments are expected to result in a total investment of $415 million in three projects.

More than half of the federal commitment of $72.3 million, about $45 million, will go to Titanium Corp., a company working with Canadian Natural on a technology to recover valuable minerals and residual bitumen while remediating tailings at the Horizon oilsands mine in northern Alberta.

An additional $10 million has been committed by Emissions Reduction Alberta, the provincial body in charge of reinvesting carbon tax proceeds.

Canadian Natural is also to receive $5 million in federal funds and $5.6 million from the province for its in-pit extraction process which aims to separate bitumen from oilsands ore in the mine before transporting it to the processing centre, thus reducing transportation costs and emissions.

The Calgary-based producer has also won $22.3 million from Ottawa for a lower-emission steam turbine generator at the Athabasca Oil Sands Project mining operation it owns with partners Chevron Canada and Shell Canada.